The God of Dragons
by Fatherfail
Summary: While Fiore's princess and her men rush to develop the Eclipse Plan, Zeref is making his own plan. Zeref's final plan will not fail, and the world will descend into darkness. Only the dragon slayers can stop it, but what if they start to die off? How can the world be saved if there are no dragon slayers? AU and OCs wanted.
1. A Chance

** Well, it's been a while. Sorry, but I got bored of writing for a while because well, I had no inspiration. Thankfully, some has returned, and I hope to get more as the week progresses, hopefully making me want to write more. **

**Just a warning, this is slightly AU and I'm accepting OCs if I feel like they are good. **

**I really don't have anything more to say, so I hope you guys enjoy this short preview.**

…

The kick was strong, and it sent the child slamming through the wooden doors and out onto the muddy street, rain pouring down as the child struggled to get to his feet, wiping the mud from his face.

"You think you have what it takes to join us?"

The kid looked up at the open doors to the huge building he had been kicked out of, his dark brown eyes reflecting fear. The child scrambled to his feet and stood defiantly in front of the open doors as the rain continued to pour, soaking the child completely. His clothes used to be relatively clean, but they were now a disgusting brown color from the mud that now covered his clothes. His hair stuck to his head because of the downpour of rain, but the most striking feature of the child was his demanding facial expression. The child shouted back into the huge building without hesitating.

"Why can't I join you?! I'll do anything! Anything!" he shouted, his voice breaking at the end.

Suddenly the child let out a scream of pain as he was slammed back down into the mud. The child looked up at who had assaulted him and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. It was dark, but light enough to see the blonde hair and sneer that gave it away. It was Sting Eucliffe, one of Saber Tooth's two dragon slayers. He prodded the child with his boot and smiled.

"You can't join us because you're weak. Saber Tooth has no use for weaklings!" Sting pushed the kid away with his foot and turned to walk back into his guild. "Get out of my sight, weakling."

With that, the child was left alone, the rain pouring down, mud surrounding him. Slowly, the kid stood up from the mud, brushed himself off, and walked away, head down. Perhaps tears were shed, but they were lost in the rain.

…

The child soon found himself standing in a tavern, a puddle of water forming underneath where he sat, alone. The mud on his clothes had washed off in the downpour, but they were still stained brown. The tavern was not crowded, most customers opting to stay home instead of trudging through the rain. The kid sat there, thinking about what had happened. What had he done wrong? He had thought he was strong enough to at least be considered, instead, they threw him out, and he was even mocked by his hero.

His hands balled up into fists, and he felt tears coming to his eyes when suddenly somebody came into the tavern, sitting down at the table where he was sitting. It was an old man, his aged face covered in wrinkles, grey hair, and wearing an ancient jacket with several holes in it. He smiled as he sat down at the wooden table with the child.

"A little young to be in a tavern aren't you, boy?"

He glanced up at the old man and just grunted, not wanting to get into details. The old man laughed and continued.

"What's your name? I don't remember seeing you come here before in all of my years here."

The boy hesitated, but still answered his name. It would have been rude not to. He looked up at the old man, and tried not to sound weak.

"My name's Armanis. What's your name?" he asked, suddenly curious about the old man who had decided to sit down with him.

"Well, nice to meet you, Armanis. People around here call me Brennan. Now, what is a kid like you doing here?" Brennan asked.

Armanis stiffened. He didn't really want to talk about it to a stranger he barely knew, but he continued on anyways. He needed to get it out. He told Brennan the whole story and the old man listened and when Armanis had finished, the old man sighed.

"You tried to join Saber Tooth, eh? Bad luck there, son. In my day Fairy Tail was the strongest guild, but it seems they haven't been doing too well with all of their strongest members missing." The old man stopped to think and scratched his chin and suddenly smiled. He turned back to Armanis. "Well, you're in luck. I was recently buying things from an old friend when he gave me an old book. Now, I'm an old man, so I'm going to give you the book so you can use it. Perhaps it contains knowledge you can use to join Saber Tooth. How about it?"

Armanis was frozen in place. He just stared at the old man and a smile slowly spread across his face. A spark of hope still burned in the child.

"I accept."

The old man took out an old book and placed it on the table and Armanis took it in his hands. He thanked the old man and left, smiling with glee. The old man had told him to use it to join Saber Tooth, but that idea had long since died away…

…

**I hope that was good. It's been a while since I have dealt with Sting and other FT characters. Anyways, I am accepting OCs if they interest me, so don't be afraid to send them in! The form is on my profile.**

**Thanks for reading! FF**


	2. The Real Deal

**Well, this is the last day of my Winter Break. It was fun while it lasted and unfortunately with school just around the corner, I can't update nearly as often. I'll try to update regularly, but I can't really promise anything because of my sometimes hectic schedule. **

**Oh, and this chapter is primarily to introduce the majority of the characters so not a whole lot will happen. I apologize in advance, but it needs to be done.**

**Oh, and a warning: All OCs may be killed off, even mine.**

**On that happy note, let's continue with the story!**

…

"Are you alright, your grace?"

Hisui E. Fiore was brought back into reality and quickly shook her head. She sighed as she looked out the window of the tower at the beautiful city of Crocus, observing all of the people preparing for the Grand Magic Games. She tried to put on a strong face as she thought of all the people she was responsible for, but it was hard knowing she could also be responsible for many deaths. She turned to face the group of trusted officials before her and she nodded her head, trying not to think about unpleasant things.

"Yes, I'm feeling fine. Thank you for your concern." She said politely as the man in the suit nodded his head and went back to speaking to the other men and women in the room.

For some odd reason, the princess wasn't feeling well at all. However, she was good at hiding it besides that one little slip. It was unusual for her to feel ill or unenthusiastic, especially when it was an event she had called together. More than once she found herself almost drifting off to sleep because she was so exhausted. She looked around the room, trying to keep her eyes open, and her eyes fell upon Arcadios, her most trusted official. The general gave her a curt nod and returned his attention to the meeting, but that brought a smile to her face.

"Ah, your grace, I forgot one small detail. Your father has asked that you take over official duties for a short time because of the Grand Magic Games. He wishes to enjoy the games fully and believes that this will be a good opportunity for you." said the man in the suit, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

This was a surprise to the princess, but she nodded her head anyways. A short silence followed, and Hisui believed that the meeting was finally coming to a close. She nodded her head and smiled at her allies.

"Well, then I believe this meeting is coming to a close. I thank you all for coming and supporting this plan." Her tone suddenly changed to a more serious one, the people in the room stiffening at the sudden change. "You must all remember that this plan must not fail under _any _circumstance. The entire country is depending on our work. The Eclipse Plan _must _succeed or we are all doomed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your grace!" they said in unison as they bowed deeply in respect.

The men and women quickly filed out of the room and left the princess alone. As soon as the last person left and the door closed the princess turned to look out the window again. She didn't even look at the city's beautiful architecture this time. Instead, she looked up at the sky. She might have been able to put on a strong face this time, but with Zeref's arrival growing closer with the beginning of the Grand Magic Games, she didn't know if she could do it any longer. And in her darkest fears a single thought was present.

What if Zeref had his own plan?

**Fairy Tail **

The legendary guild of Fairy Tail had long since become a shell of its former self, becoming the most pathetic guild in the land. Its headquarters were still located in Magnolia, but the original guild building had been sold and they now met in a rundown tavern at the top of a small hill in the countryside. The guild wasn't nearly as lively, but it had managed to hold onto live all of those years, being bullied by the new big guild in Magnolia, Twilight Ogre.

The doors to the tiny guild opened and a young man walked in, his eyes hidden by blue tinted sunglasses. He was wearing a white hoodie with Fairy Tail's mark on the back in neon blue, black pants with grey combat boots, and looked to be one of the taller members of the guild. He grinned as he entered the guild, the main room filled with people talking or looking at the job board. The man was about to go look at the job board when he heard somebody calling his name. The person who was calling was sitting at wooden table in the middle of the guild and the man saw that it was the guild's current guild master, Macao Conbolt.

The young man joined him at the table and took off his sunglasses, revealing blue eyes. He smiled at the older man as he sat down.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" the man asked as Macao cleared his throat.

"Atlas, your partner was looking for you. He isn't too please with your lateness."

The man raised his eyebrows. He wasn't aware his partner was looking for him. He quickly nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll find him then. I assume he wants to go on a mission. Thanks for the tip," Atlas said as he stood up from the table, scanning the small, slightly crowded room for his partner, Hiro.

It didn't take long, but it was Hiro who found Atlas. The blonde haired mage was looking in the completely wrong direction and eventually his partner just tapped his shoulder. Atlas grinned when he saw his partner, ignoring the slightly ignored facial expression of the young mage.

"Hey, I heard you were looking for me. What did you need?" Atlas asked as Hiro pointed over to the jobs on a large wooden board.

"A royal request came in. It seems his highness hasn't forgotten about us after all. Macao told me to take it with you. Come on, let's hurry and do the job," Hiro said, spitting out 'his highness' with some contempt.

Atlas scratched his head as he looked over at the board. It had been a while since a royal request had been filed, and Atlas watched in silence as his black haired partner went over to the board to retrieve it. Atlas sighed as he watched the request get taken off the board. He had hoped Hiro would have been a bit more friendly, but the young mage was still distant from him despite attempts to get him to open up. Hiro seemed to have a habit of wearing black clothes, wearing a black long sleeve shirt despite it being very warm outside, and black pants and boots to match.

"Alright, here it is. Look it over first and we'll get going. It doesn't look too hard." said Hiro as Atlas took the piece of paper in his hand.

The request was printed on paper that was much fancier than the others and was stamped with the royal seal. Atlas read through the whole thing and sighed on the inside. The job was way too easy.

_Royal Request: His Majesty requests that a group of rogue mercenaries be taken care of near Crocus. The reward is 200,000 jewels and the royal family's gratitude._

Atlas glumly stuffed the job into his pocket. Easy jobs were the only jobs in the guild recently, even the royal requests. Hiro didn't look too impressed either.

"Alright, let's just do this…"

**Near Crocus, mercenary camp**

The mercenary fell against a crate, gasping for air. His eyes darted around the camp wildly in fear and widened when he saw a figure walking towards him. The mercenary tried to scramble to his feet, but he was quickly smashed back down, the crate breaking from the force of the blow. The man groaned as he rolled around on the ground, pain shooting through his body. The figure that had scared the man was now standing over him, watching with apathetic dark brown eyes.

The figure was dressed neatly in a black trench coat, a purple dress shirt underneath. He wore black dress pants with matching dress shoes and brown hair, a three corner hat on his head. The figure knelt down in front of the screaming mercenary and spoke in a soft, almost soothing voice.

"I only asked you a question. What is your connection to Saber Tooth? I won't ask again."

The mercenary growled and coughed as he struggled against the slowly fading pain in his body. The mercenary's clothes were a direct contrast to the man's neat clothes. The sell-sword gritted his teeth as he spoke, glaring at the figure.

"I don't even know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout. I don't work for Saber Tooth! I was hired by some guy named Ivan to mess with the upcoming tournament! I don't know anything about Saber Tooth!" screamed the mercenary as the man stood up, stroking his chin while smiling slightly.

The man drew the sword he kept at his side and was about to finish off the mercenary when suddenly somebody shouted from behind him.

"Armanis, wait!"

The man named Armanis turned, eyes narrowed in annoyance. His eyes softened once he saw who it was. A man with long blonde hair was walking towards him, a breastplate protecting his chest, lion's fur around the edges. He was wearing a sand colored blazer underneath with white pants, a blue headband hiding his eyes from view. He was significantly more muscular than Armanis and stood a bit taller than him.

"What is it, Lloyd?" Armanis asked as the muscular man came over to speak with him.

Lloyd looked down at the mercenary and looked back at Armanis.

"I believe you should spare him. He gave you what you wanted." said Lloyd firmly as Armanis groaned.

The mercenary camp grew eerily quiet as the fighting died down. Two others came out from the woods, one of them a woman carrying a spear with the blood still trickling from its blade. The two joined Lloyd and Armanis in front of the mercenary who was no longer in serious pain. Armanis looked at the two new comers with annoyance. The woman was as tall as Armanis and was wearing a grey blazer with the buttons undone, a white dress shirt underneath. Her long auburn hair was tied back and she was wearing white skirt. It was almost as if she was trying to match Lloyd. She stuck the spear point in the ground and smiled at Lloyd who smiled back, and glared at Armanis.

"I'm going to have to agree with-" said the woman before Armanis cut her off before she could finish.

"I already know what you're going to say. Of course you agree with Lloyd," Armanis grumbled as he looked at the last person to join their little group. "What do you think, Willoughby?"

The final member of the group was an older looking man and looked to be the oldest man in the group. He had a hunch which made him shorter than Armanis, and wore a light brown coat, a crow on his right shoulder. His brown eyes had dark circles underneath them and he wore glasses. His black hair had several white hairs in it and he wore a red scarf around his neck, sighing as Armanis asked him for his opinion.

"I really don't care to be honest." said Willoughby gloomily as he pointed to the mercenary.

Everyone's gaze returned to the mercenary who was surrounded by crows, all watching the mercenary with their beady black eyes. Armanis shuddered as he turned back to everyone in the group.

"Alright, we'll I guess it's a tie then. It's too much of a hassle if he gets loose so I say the logical choice is to kill hi-"

The sentence was never finished as Armanis was suddenly launched forward, slamming into the ground, the three cornered hat falling to the ground. Instantly, the members of the group scattered, going in different directions. Armanis was up in a second, but he was bewildered by what he saw scattered across the ground. Ice. His eyes darted around the camp, trying to see the attacker and he quickly found him. A black haired mage coming out of the trees, his fist covered in ice. Armanis raised his eyebrows, but had to duck before another blast of ice hit him. The mercenaries had a mage?

"They're just a bunch of cowardly mercenaries! This job was easier than I thought. Come on, Atlas, let's finish the job!" shouted the black haired mage as he walked into the camp, looking around for the 'mercenaries'.

Armanis was about to make a move when suddenly the newcomer was assaulted by a horde of crows, the black haired mage being completely covered in the black birds, all pecking at the mage's body. They were quickly repelled, but Armanis got a close look at the mage. He was barely a teenager. Armanis shook his head as he stepped out of cover, sword drawn.

"It's just a kid! It's fine!" he shouted as he started walking towards the kid, sword at the ready.

"Just a kid, huh? Think again."

The attack was incredibly strong. Armanis was blown off of his feet and he felt at least seven punches hit him in different areas. He slammed down into the ground and could barely see a flash of white before he quickly went on the offensive. Armanis growled in anger. He wasn't about to be shown up by two idiots who had mistaken them for the enemy.

"Valeria, Lloyd, take the stupid ice kid! Willoughby, you're with me. Let's show Mr. Fast that he can't just mess with us!" shouted Armanis as he saw the incredibly quick mage suddenly appear, ready to deliver a punch to Armanis.

The punch would have gotten through, but a solid hit to the side with a spear butt sent the mage sliding across the ground. Several men surrounded Armanis, spears at the ready, helmets covering their faces. Atlas looked surprised at the soldiers that appeared out of thin air. He shook the surprise from his face and blasted past them, only to be blocked by a group of crows shrieking at them. A few quick punches sent the crows dropping, and the soldiers were no problem.

"Take this, bastard! For Fairy Tail!" shouted Atlas as he smashed his fist towards Armanis, the punch connecting solidly with the man's shoulder, knocking him off balance.

Atlas grinned as the man fell to the ground and as about to take on Willoughby when he heard Hiro shout something.

"Atlas, these guys are the real deal! They aren't mercenaries!" Hiro shouted before being thrown back from a wave of black water.

Atlas was about to say something back when he was caught unprepared and something huge smashed into him, sending him flying towards Hiro, the two mages ending up in a pile. Armanis stood up, brushing himself off as the huge hammer that had sent Atlas flying disappeared. He grinned as he saw that the two mages were being surrounded, Valeria and Lloyd already standing around them, ready to kill them. Willoughby glanced at Armanis and sighed.

"I suppose you want them dead." said Willoughby as Armanis nodded.

The two joined up with the rest of the group and Armanis looked down at them, grinning. Hiro glared up at them.

"As you can tell, we aren't the mercenaries you hoped we were. It's sad that your lives end here, but I guess that's the price you pay for assuming we were your targets. Kill them." ordered Armanis as Valeria raised her spear.

"The Ice Dragon's Roar!"

The blast of solid ice shot from Hiro's mouth, causing mass confusion within the group. Valeria never got to spear the two and Hiro quickly stood up, launching attacks in quick succession. He shouted back to Atlas who was dusting himself off.

"Get back to Fairy Tail! Tell them we're pinned down here! Hurry!" he shouted as Atlas shook his head defiantly, getting ready to attack as well.

"What are you talking about, Hiro?! I'm not leaving you for dead!"

"If you stay we both die! Hurry up and go! I can't do this forever! Go and tell everyone now!" Hiro screamed as he was hit with a blast of black water, sending him sprawling against the ground.

Atlas's hands curled into fists as he turned and ran towards Fairy Tail. It felt so wrong, abandoning his partner, but he knew Hiro was right. Somebody had to tell Macao what had happened. He just hoped he could make it back before Hiro got himself in trouble.

"You bastards…you'll pay for what you've done!" Atlas screamed as he ran towards Fairy Tail at full speed.

Hiro heard Atlas and the dragon slayer smiled just before the sword pierced through his body, the brown haired man they called "Armanis" smiling at him.

"A dragon slayer, eh? Who are you working for? Saber Tooth? Tell me and I might spare you!"

Hiro didn't say anything. He didn't have the strength to and he quickly fell to the ground blood spilling from the wound in his chest.

"Long live Fairy Tail…" he whispered quietly as the last of his strength left him, everything going black.

There was a silence as everybody watched the blood pool around the mage, barely a teenager. Armanis watched on and he slowly turned to everybody else. He shook his head silently. He couldn't feel bad. Only his friends mattered now.

"One of the mercenaries mentioned a tournament. Let's go check it out shall we?" said Armanis smoothly as everybody nodded their heads silently, leaving the dragon slayer's body behind.

…

The doors to the guild might as well not have been there. Atlas burst through them and shouted into the guild.

"Hiro's being attacked! We need backup or he's dead! Come on!" he shouted, suddenly freezing when he saw the huge crowd of guild members standing before him, a group of people he had never seen before being admired by his guild mates.

One of them stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. Atlas's eyes widened when he saw who it was. Pink hair, a scale-like scarf around his neck, and the ferocious look on his face confirmed it all. It was Natsu Dragneel. The Fairy Tail aces were back. The dragon slayer's fist burst into flames and Atlas took a step back.

"Who the hell dares to attack my friends?"

…

**Man, this chapter took forever. It took me around 3 hours to finish this for some insane reason. Anyways, I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Unfortunately, it's pretty slow thanks to character intros, but I hope you forgive me. Thank you Guest and reven228 for your characters and sorry Guest for killing your character, but it had to happen. **

**I'm still very rusty so the road might be bumpy, but bear with me please. Anyways, OC submissions are still open so please send me your awesome characters! If you want you can send in more than one!**

**Thanks for reading! FF**


	3. Control and Manipulation

**I was honestly not expecting to update so soon after the first one, but here I am! Writing this story is pretty fun and I hope that continues into the future. I have a couple quick questions for you guys: 1. Would you like me to write longer chapters with more space in between updates or shorter chapters with less space in between updates? **

**2. Would you like me to switch POV more often with characters, 1****st**** person, etc?**

**Answer the questions in your review.**

**This chapter is a little bit more experimental because of criticism I got from various people myself included about how my characters never really interacted with each other besides when they fought so this is the chapter where I try to fix that. Call it filler if you want, but it's something people want to see fixed. Not much to say here besides that. I hope you enjoy. **

…

The fire was small, but it was warm enough as everyone huddled around it, a few tents pitched in the background around the fire. They had been lucky to come upon a camp where there were a few extra tents. Nobody was talking, but Armanis knew what they were thinking. Killing somebody who was little more than a child was a big deal to everybody even though they had just been killing before that encounter. He was looking around the fire right now, looking for emotions on each of their faces. Willoughby was busy watching the smoke curl up from the fire into the night sky, but he could see something on the other two.

Unfortunately, in watching Lloyd and Valeria, the latter caught his eye, glaring at him. Armanis tried to look away, but it was too late. Armanis almost visibly winced as Valeria lashed into him with her words.

"What are you looking for? Are you looking for remorse about the kid's death? Is that what you want?" Valeria asked accusingly as she stood up, glaring at Armanis.

The brown haired mage cursed under his breath as he met Valeria's gaze. It hurt to do so. He tried putting on a neutral face and it worked.

"Yes, I was. I'm not going to lie to you about my intentions." said Armanis calmly as the other members of the group started to stare at them, gauging how the argument would end.

That made Valeria scoff and Armanis started to feel pricks of anger after that. Did she seriously doubt his honesty? Willoughby cast an inquisitive look towards Lloyd and the muscular man made a motion not to interfere.

"You're not going to lie about your intentions?! You've been lying the whole time or at least scheming the whole time! I could see it on your face when you killed that kid! I saw that killing him was just another step in your plan for whatever you're planning to do!" Valeria shouted, Armanis bolting up from his seat, angry fully visible on his face.

The neutral look was completely gone. It was replaced by a look of anger that hadn't been on his face since he had been humiliated by Sting. Willoughby coughed, but everybody ignored it and Lloyd looked increasingly worried, but stayed silent.

"Will you just shut up about that kid?! Yeah, I killed him and I'll admit that it wasn't my best decision, alright?! What did you want me to do, cry and crawl up into a little ball?!" shouted Armanis back, his voice practically echoing through the forest.

This made Lloyd stand up to calm both of them down. He had a booming voice, but immediately Valeria turned to him and snapped at him with such ferocity that it made the Pride Slayer* take a step back. Armanis grew angrier with the second and couldn't wait until Valeria replied to what he had said. Finally, she did.

"I expected you to show some emotion! Is that so hard for you to do?! You just walked away from the body like it was nothing at all! You just directly went to whatever that goddamn mercenary told you. What happened to him anyways?!" she asked angrily as Armanis's eyes widened.

Armanis would have groaned and closed his eyes if he wasn't in the middle of a heated argument. He should have checked for him! No doubt the mercenary was running his mouth to every dark guild in the country! He shook his head quickly and went back to business.

"Who gives a damn what happened to him? You wanted to spare him, remember?! If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you know that I felt bad after I killed him. Who wouldn't feel bad about killing somebody who wasn't even an adult yet?! You're trying to demonize me when I'm telling you the truth about what I want and feel!" shouted Armanis, hoping that this would end the argument quickly.

Instead, it just seemed to make Valeria even more angry. She shivered with rage and she said something Armanis never wanted to hear. Everyone's eyes widened when they heard what Valeria screamed at their leader, effectively ending the fight right then and there.

"You only say that so you can continue to manipulate all of us! You only want us around so we can be your backup in case you don't have the strength to take down Sting! You don't care about us at all!" she shouted as Armanis stood frozen.

There was no more conversation between the two. Armanis was trying to suppress his rage and it was barely working as he turned to Lloyd who was trying to talk to Valeria.

"Lloyd, control your woman**!" Armanis shouted angrily as the rage reached a high point.

Lloyd nodded his head quickly, but Valeria would have none of it. She escaped Lloyd's powerful grasp and leapt over the fire towards when Armanis stood and punched him straight in the right eye, sending Armanis to the ground, the vision in his right eye horribly blurred. Armanis let out a scream of pain and Valeria turned and ran into the forest leaving the three of them behind.

…

Lloyd had helped Armanis to his feet and the two of them sat on the log, the fire larger than it had been a while ago. Willoughby had gone to find Valeria and the two remaining mages were talking to each other. Armanis's anger had slowly gone down, but anger about Valeria's last comment remained.

"Lloyd, do you think I'm excessively manipulative?" asked Armanis quietly as Lloyd sighed quietly, rubbing the lower half of his face with his left hand while thinking.

"To be honest, Armanis, I think you are indeed somewhat manipulative, but I don't blame you for it. You're the leader of our little group and understand you have a mission you're working to," he replied as Armanis nodded his head slowly, his right hand over his right eye.

"Well, if I am extremely manipulative in any way, I apologize. It's just hard not to be when you're leader of anything and you want revenge for something somebody perhaps stronger than you did." The pain in his right eye hadn't gone down and Armanis shifted uncomfortably. "Do you think she'll come back?"

Lloyd nodded his head and grunted. He threw a piece of wood into the fire and watched it slowly burn as he turned towards Armanis.

"She'll be back. I'm sure she's fine by now. She doesn't actually hate you, Armanis," Lloyd said quietly as Armanis raised his eyebrows.

"Really, I find that hard to believe." replied Armanis as Lloyd smiled.

"I know, but she's just annoyed because you're so obsessed with your goal. She just wants some direction that benefits everybody, like treasure hunting." explained Lloyd, Armanis lowering his gaze.

"What about you? What do you think of my obsession with defeating Sting? Would you like a goal that benefits everybody?" asked Armanis as Lloyd shrugged his broad shoulders, hunching over to imitate Willoughby.

"I don't really care," He said in a perfect imitation and Armanis laughed, Lloyd switching to his normal voice. "In all seriousness, I'm happy with what I have because this in itself is an adventure. I'm sure Willoughby feels the same way."

Armanis nodded his head and stood up, stretching as he looked up into the sky, searching for the brightest star. Even though he was still sort of angry at Valeria, she had brought up a good point and Armanis couldn't help but think about it. What if he wasn't strong enough to defeat Sting? What if this was all for nothing? The thought of failure made Armanis genuinely afraid and he decided to stop thinking about it, walking to his tent. He turned back to look at Lloyd was feeding the fire with some more wood.

"I'm getting some sleep. Hopefully my eye doesn't swell, but I won't get my hopes up. If you want to keep watch for Valeria you can and if you want to switch just wake me." said Armanis as Lloyd nodded his head, the leader of the group slipping into the tent and lying down on the cot inside.

He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, his worries dying away as sleep invaded his mind.

**Devastated Mercenary Camp**

It was morning when Atlas guided the small group of mages to the mercenary camp where Hiro had been killed. The mage named Atlas was in front of the group, his face solemn as he looked around the camp. Behind him was a dark blue haired mage with hardly any clothes on and the legendary mage the people called "The Salamander." Strangely, Atlas couldn't see Hiro's body and even went to the last spot he saw his partner, finding a crudely made headstone that consisted of two rusty swords crossed over each other stuck in the dirt.

"Where's the body? I suspect they just left him and went on." said the dark blue haired mage as he scanned the camp, looking for the body.

"I doubt they buried it. Somebody else must have come through here while we were gone. Natsu, you have a better sense of smell than any of us. Can you perhaps smell some people not too far from here? It's still early so they shouldn't have gone too far." said Atlas as he put on his blue tinted sunglasses, trying not to think about his dead partner.

Natsu nodded his head without saying anything and inhaled deeply, trying to get a sense of where everything was. He suddenly concentrated on a smell that interested him. It was weaker than all the other smells, but it was strange because it was getting weaker by the second. It smelled like…magic. Natsu pointed in the direction of the smell. An angry look appeared on his face as his fist burst into flames, an indication of how angry he was.

"I found them. They're on the move so let's hurry! These bastards will be nothing but pulp when I'm done with them!" shouted Natsu as the group of three ran in the direction Natsu had pointed in.

**Crocus, in the royal palace**

"Is this the truth?" Hisui asked as the man before him nodded his head rapidly as if he were a dog.

The man was shoddily dressed, most likely a mercenary with his mismatched armor and rusted sword which had been confiscated at the door. He reeked of death which wasn't uncommon for mercenaries and he looked as if he had been on the run for days, his eyes bloodshot and wide like a hunted animal's.

"Yes, your grace! I saw them with my own eyes! They were rouge mages that assaulted my mercenary group without warning! We weren't doing anything wrong! Please, help my case!" he pleased desperately as Hisui nodded her head slowly.

She appeared to be completely focused, but in truth her head swam with several different ideas. The Eclipse Plan, the Grand Magic Games, and now a group of murdering rouge mages? She felt her forehead and shivered slightly, trying to get back to the matters at hand.

'_Focus, Hisui' _she thought as she ordered the mercenary to stand. She turned to the guards who stood beside her in the royal chamber and lined the walkway to the throne.

"Guards, dispatch a royal request to Saber Tooth detailing the arrest or execution of these rogue mages at once!" she shouted forcefully as the mercenary bowed deeply.

The guards immediately saluted at her command and then knelt on the stone floor. Hisui smiled as she saw that. She always thought it was sort of cool.

"Yes, your grace!"

**Saber Tooth**

The fancy piece of paper was ripped off of the board by a black haired mage with blood red eyes who read the paper with a calculating manner. The guild was rather busy because of preparation for the upcoming Grand Magic Games, but he quickly found his partner, obliterating a set of targets with ease in the training area. The black haired mage walked over to his partner and handed the piece of paper to him.

"A royal request came in, Sting," he said as the blonde haired dragon slayer took it and skimmed over it quickly.

Sting grinned as he looked up at his partner.

"Well, well, well. It looks like we have a group of troublemakers on our hands. I don't know how much I'll improve if I fight those weaklings, but let's teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

…

**Well, that was a ton of fun to write. I hope you guys don't mind the length. **

**References: *Pride Slayer is the alternative name for Lloyd's magic. He's not actually a slayer.**

****If you haven't pick up on this already, Valeria and Lloyd are in a relationship.**

**I hope you guys thought that was alright despite the lack of action. Don't forget to answer the questions if you want to and I hope you had fun reading! Thanks for reading and I will see you guys later! FF**


	4. Crush the Fairies

**I'm really lucky to have a very non-hectic school days recently. I mean, I just got back from break, but still. I expected more school work than I have gotten for the past two days. I don't know how long this trend will last, but I am hoping it will so I can get a lot of writing done so I don't end up disappointing you guys with a lack of updates. **

**Anyways, I think I should explain something before we get into this chapter. I don't usually have animals that can communicate with humans very often in my stories (I think there's been one other instance, but it was an OC somebody sent me), but there happen to be some in this chapter.**

_Italics means somebody is thinking or an animal is speaking_

**Now that you know that, I think I'm ready to start the chapter. **

…

He had been walking through the forest the whole night, searching. Willoughby's dark circles were already a problem and the late night searching was not helping in the slightest. The mage suddenly stopped, looking around his surroundings. It was incredibly early with the sun barely coming up, the sky a light blue. He adjusted his glasses, looked around the forest, and sighed.

Valeria had run far, as expected of her. To be honest, Willoughby didn't like the forest at all, despite it being a good habitat for his crows. All the trees looked the same and on many occasions he had tripped on a root or low tree branch. Willoughby leaned against the nearest tree, thankful for the support the tree provided him. His eyes were drooping and he almost fell asleep when the cawing of a crow awoke him.

He looked up at the early morning sky and spotted a dark form coming down from the trees, stopping to rest on Willoughby's shoulder. The mage smiled at the crow as it lowered his head, shaking its wings.

"Have you found her? I'd like to get some sleep." yawned Willoughby as the crow looked at him with its beady black eyes.

'_Yes, your majesty. She's not far from here. Please, follow me.'_ said the crow as Willoughby nodded, following the crow's path as it flew at an easy to follow pace.

…

The crow had been right about Valeria being close. Willoughby had been led to a riverbank where the short tempered girl was standing, spear in hand, looking down at the river. Several crows had gathered at her feet and the black birds immediately took off as Willoughby approached the riverbank quietly, the crows quickly landing at his feet. That was enough for Valeria to realize that she had a visitor, one who specialized with crows. She turned and blinked at him as if she didn't know who he was. Willoughby stared back as best he could, trying to keep his eyes open.

"By god, you look awful," Valeria said bluntly as Willoughby yawned and stretched.

"That reminds me, I need to thank you for the opportunity to chase you throughout the night, robbing me of the sleep I sorely need." responded Willoughby sarcastically as Valeria rolled her eyes as she wrinkled her nose at the crows that had gathered all around him.

"I don't need your sarcasm. Anyways, thanks for getting those disgusting birds away from me and coming to find me. I suppose you came to escort me back to camp?" asked Valeria as Willoughby furrowed his brow, suddenly bombarded by information from the crows at his feet.

At least a dozen reports were coming in from the crows around him, a few good, but most of them bad. According to one crow, Armanis and Lloyd were moving camp and had left behind a note asking them to meet them at the capital city, not too far from here. Another crow was saying that a few mages were wandering the forest, looking for them. Willoughby groaned as he silenced the crows with a wave of his hand, Valeria giving him a weird look.

"Yeah, yeah, but I can't really escort you because they're on the move. They want us to meet at Crocus, no doubt for that tournament Armanis wanted to check out. Anyways, I doubt you need any escorting. You're stronger than I am, remember?" asked Willoughby with a hint of annoyance as Valeria nodded her head, getting the hint. Willoughby coughed. "Also, apparently they're being tailed…by two groups. I can't explain everything right now. We need to go…_now._"

Valeria nodded and the two were off without another word. There were more important things to do than stand around and talk about possible enemies. They had to do something.

…

Unfortunately, the eye did swell. Armanis was now graced with a black eye and it really hurt to touch or keep open. The two of them had packed up the camp and were now on the move towards Crocus. Armanis was disappointed that Valeria and Willoughby didn't arrive at the camp before they left, but it couldn't be helped. The camp equipment was sort of heavy, but Armanis had bigger things to worry about. Something just felt…_wrong._ The two were moving at a good pace. It would be ideal to reach Crocus by the time night came again.

There was silence between the two mages because talking would be a waste of energy, but it was broken by the fluttering of wings as a tiny little black bird came down from the trees, fluttering its tiny wings as it hovered between Armanis and Lloyd, the Pride Slayer turning to look what had come down from the trees. Armanis raised an eyebrow as Lloyd scratched his head. Both were confused about what this little bird wanted and neither of them expected what happened next. It started to _talk._

"Armanis, Lloyd, I need you both to start running. You are being followed. Do you hear me? I will say it again: you are being followed. They're gaining on you and you need to get the hell out of there before they find you." said the bird urgently…in Willoughby's voice.

Both of the rouge mages disregarded the message completely. They were too fascinated by the little bird and what magic had gone into creating it.

"Wow, that's very cool. I had no idea you could do that!" exclaimed Armanis in wonder as he cupped the little bird in his hand.

"Will you listen to me?!" shouted the bird as it pecked Armanis's hand rapidly, the mage yelping as he withdrew his hand, glaring at the little bird. "Just drop all the camp equipment and run! They're getting closer as we speak. I managed to find Valeria and we're taking a detour. Meet us in Magnolia Town near the Twilight Ogre guild building, alright? I'll try to stay with you the whole way, but if they take this crow out you-"

A shard of ice sent the small crow to the ground, dead. Armanis and Lloyd looked at each other for a moment before immediately looking in the direction of where the ice shard had come from. There stood a group of three, one of them recognizable from the fight yesterday. He was accompanied by a mage who had dark blue hair with just pants on and a pink haired mage who looked like he was about to explode in fury.

"That's them!" shouted the mage who was called Atlas from yesterday.

The two rouges wasted no time. Lloyd had his camping equipment off his back within seconds and threw it at the three, trying to slow them down. Armanis had already thrown the equipment off and was trying to use his magic to slow them down.

"Illusions of Reality: Pawns!" he shouted as several soldiers appeared from thin air, charging towards the group of three.

The two turned tail and ran after that, Armanis looking over his shoulder once to see what was going on. The soldiers had already been taken down and they were hot on their tail. A few bolts of fire shot past them and Armanis willed himself to run faster. Lloyd kept an even pace, his muscular legs giving him an advantage. Thoughts shot through Armanis's head.

'_Oh shit, this isn't good. How the hell did they even find us? Where the hell is Magnolia anyways? Oh, wait, to the Southeast from Crocus. Goddamn it!' _he thought desperately as the two continued to run, barely staying ahead of their pursuers.

Everything was a blur as they ran and Lloyd suddenly disappeared, leaving Armanis alone. The leader of the rogue group frantically looked around as he ran when a sudden flash of black sent his entire world tumbling. He heard something crack and he started to slide. Things stood still enough for him to realize that he had fallen off the edge of steep hill, about to slide down a rocky path perhaps to his death.

'_Shit.' _thought Armanis as the pain started to begin as he slid down the hill, the speed doing strange things to his head. The black eye didn't help.

_Crack_

Pain shot through Armanis's body as he hit the ground at top speeds. He couldn't move his leg. He collapsed on the grassy ground, unable to go anywhere. He tried to drag himself forward, but he failed. He couldn't even think as he heaved, unable to get the pain to subside. He swore he could hear fighting from above, no doubt Lloyd trying to hold the attackers off. Armanis chuckled weakly as he lay there, helpless. This was all so pathetic. He was the leader, but he couldn't really help. He simply wasn't useful. Suddenly he felt somebody grab him and hoist him onto their shoulder. A pursuer no doubt.

'_Maybe I never will get revenge on Sting…'_ thought Armanis sadly as he passed out from exhaustion.

…

The rouge mage wearing the hat was suddenly hit with something black and he quickly disappeared. They had already lost the blonde rouge and the group stopped running and slowed to a stop. Atlas stepped forward cautiously, wondering what the black blur had been. It must have had considerable force as it slammed the rouge right off of his feet. Natsu and Gray didn't wander too far as well, looking for the rouges. Atlas cursed as he slammed his fist against a tree, frustrated beyond belief. They had lost both of them. The chase was as good as over.

The Fairy Tail mages were about to search a bit more when slow clapping was heard. They turned to see a blonde haired man around Natsu's age clapping at them, a sneer on his face. Standing beside the blonde was a black haired man most likely the same age, accompanied by somebody dressed entirely in a ninja suit, a blade in his hand. They wore an unfamiliar guild symbol that appeared to represent a creature with a large fang or tooth.

"Well, this is a great surprise. My greatest idol before my very eyes!" laughed the blonde as he took a step towards the group of three.

Atlas gritted his teeth while Gray and Natsu looked confused. Saber Tooth. What the hell were they doing here? Rogue remained silent as Sting continued on.

"Well, it's unfortunate that the rogue mage was killed. I believe Dobengal's attack was enough to send him falling to his death. I didn't get in any training, but I see that my idol is here to help me train," Sting said in a snide manner as he suddenly looked Natsu in the eyes. "I'm stronger than you and I'm going to crush you to prove it."

…

**And so the Fairy and Tiger meet. This chapter was pretty fun. Sorry if the chase seems really rushed and non-descriptive, but I'm really not going to drag out a chase with every little detail. I apologize to Edward the Pure for the lack of his OC, but I'm looking for a more appropriate time to introduce her. **

**I apologize for the lack of fighting, but that'll take place next chapter and fighting isn't what this story is about. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and I will see you all later! FF**


	5. Child's Play

**Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I suddenly got busy and the days just flew by. I actually had this chapter typed up last night but I deleted it because the chapter didn't flow right to me. This chapter sort of acts as filler because I'm not sure how I add in content that actually furthers the plot in a significant way without really stretching it. **

**So, I guess this is a chapter where you can just sit back and chill? Call it the Slice of Life chapter if you will. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this. **

…

Dobengal moved fast, but Atlas immediately took action. He was tired of Saber Tooth's cocky attitude. The Saber Tooth mage attempted to use an attack but Atlas didn't even let him finish the attack.

"Nitro Motor!" he shouted as everything slowed down.

Atlas grinned as he traveled at his normal speed while everyone moved at a fraction of his speed. He jumped into the air near the Saber Tooth and flipped upside down, twisting his body at incredible speeds, his legs slamming into Dobengal with incredible force. The Saber Tooth mage didn't even stand a chance. Dobengal slammed into the ground, Atlas standing on top of him, a serious look on his face as he looked down at the Saber Tooth mage.

"Don't even try to move," he hissed as Sting clapped his hands slowly, giving them a sarcastic smile.

The white dragon slayer stepped forward, waving Atlas out of the way while looking directly at Natsu. Atlas quietly stepped off of Dobengal, the defeated mage brushing himself off and quietly joining Rogue on the sidelines. Natsu cracked his knuckles when he saw that Sting wanted to challenge him. The fire dragon slayer's anger was running at a high point. Sting had said that he wanted to crush him and Fairy Tail. Sting needed to be defeated in order to protect his friends. The white dragon slayer scoffed.

"I already know what you're thinking. You think I'm a threat to your friendship, right?" Sting held in his laughter although it was obvious he was trying to. "That makes you weak, Natsu. I'll crush your morale in just one attack!"

With that, Natsu was provoked into an attack, charging forward with his fist flaming, Sting smirking when he saw Natsu attacking.

"Pathetic," he said as he made a motion with his hands, several brilliant rays of light appearing next to him. "Holy Ray!"

The attack's effect was devastating. The rays of light smashed straight into Natsu, causing damage that hadn't been before. They struck hard and fast, sending the Fairy Tail mage flying back, barely able to move. Atlas and Gray's eyes widened when they saw Sting's attack. He had managed to send Natsu flying with a single attack! Sting shrugged his shoulders as he turned to leave the woods with the other mages. He seemed bored.

"I guess you can get better with more training, but I doubt you'll get anywhere. You've gone past your peak, Natsu. A first generation slayer will never match the strength of a third generation," he said as the Saber Tooth mages walked away, leaving the Fairy Tail mages behind, Natsu trying to chase after Sting, Gray and Atlas holding him back.

Suddenly something started to make noise in Atlas's pocket and the slowing mage reached in to see what it was. It turned out to be a communication lacrima, Makarov's face inside of it. The other Fairy Tail mages gathered around the lacrima and Makarov began to speak.

"I need you three to get back to the guild immediately. Don't ask questions, just do it. I understand that you want to find the killers and I will assemble a new team, but I need you to get here quickly! Understand?" asked Makarov from the lacrima, all the mages nodding, although Natsu did it unenthusiastically.

The Fairy Tail mages turned to return to their guild. The entire way Natsu could only think of Sting. He knew what he wanted: revenge.

**Magnolia Town**

It had been a day since Armanis had shown up at Magnolia, Lloyd carrying him on his back. Willoughby had waited every single day by the Twilight Ogre guild building, day in and day out to see if they would come. It seemed that everything anybody did was just to make her feel bad. Valeria knew that she had caused all of this to happen and she felt like crying sometimes because Armanis would be even angrier at her now.

It was her fault they had been split up when the mages attacked and Armanis had broken his leg during the chase. She and Willoughby had arrived at his parent's house in Magnolia just a few days ago. It was a rather large house, similar to some of the old mansions Valeria had seen in the country. It had two stories and was made entirely of dark brown wood that gave it a strange look of having been abandoned. While it was large, the house seemed to be rather generic, no distinguishing features really standing out.

The house was situated at the top of a small grassy hill, Fairy Tail's new guild building barely visible because of the larger grassy hill that blocked it from view in Willoughby's large backyard. Valeria was standing in front of the door that led into the backyard right now. There was a window built into the door and she could see Armanis in the backyard, a crutch by his side in the green grass, no doubt appreciating the warmth of the sun. Valeria was ashamed of what she had done, but an apology had to be official made and she opened the door to the backyard, instantly thankful for taking her blazer off.

Armanis didn't hear until she started to sit down next to him. He looked at Valeria, the black eye still on his face, and gave her a small nod before looking back up at the sky. Valeria cleared her throat, her face a shade of red as she started to apologize.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for everything." she said quietly as Armanis sighed, still looking up at the cloudless sky.

"I accept your apology, although you don't have a lot to apologize for." he said as sat up, thinking for a bit before continuing on. "You were right about how I am manipulative and obsessive. I'm not going to deny that I have those qualities, but I just hope that you can live with them. However, you were wrong about one thing."

Armanis looked at Valeria and smiled. He could tell that he had surprised her.

"You guys are my greatest blessing. Without you guys, I would be dead. I care about my friends, Valeria. I will never forget you guys. With that being said, I don't want there to be any awkwardness between us. What do you say?" he asked as Valeria nodded her head.

Valeria was completely surprised. She had expected complete anger from him, but instead she received kindness and an apology of his own. While it still pained her to see the black eye she had given him on his face, she was glad for Armanis's forgiveness. Armanis grabbed his crutch and Valeria helped him stand, Armanis grinning.

"Now, once my leg is healed, we can continue training. We don't want to miss that tournament, do we?"

**Unknown location**

A cave was not an ideal place to stay, but Zeref didn't mind at all. It was a suitable home for his companion and that's all Zeref really cared about. The cave's entrance was huge, although it was built into the side of a steep cliff that led down into a group of razor sharp rocks below, the ocean water lapping at them. Zeref sat on a smooth stone near the entrance to the cave, breathing the salty air, enjoying the cool ocean breeze.

"I have heard that Princess Hisui has created a plan known as The Eclipse Plan. How does this affect our plans?" asked a deep, growling voice from within the cave, Zeref glancing in the direction of the voice.

Zeref smiled slightly, something he hadn't done in a very long time. He admired the plan's creativity, but he didn't think the plan would succeed.

"It doesn't affect our plans at all. The Eclipse Plan isn't the best plan and its complex. Even if The Eclipse Plan is used, the effects would be terrible, perhaps even destroying this nation in the process." said Zeref, looking out on the ocean again. "The Dragon King Festival will continue as planned. Nothing can stop it from taking place."

There was a series of deep growls and Zeref interpreted it as laughter. The dragon slowly crawled out from the depths of its cave and rested its gigantic black head against the rocky floor, its black eyes, as large as Zeref, looking at him.

"I assume that you will reap all of the benefits from this festival, becoming the god of this world." growled the dragon, Zeref smiling and then chuckling.

"I don't know the answer to that, Acnologia. I have recently woken up, with the help of sympathetic emotions mind you, and I really don't know what will happen from here. Honestly, I spend most of my time thinking about my children." said Zeref, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Acnologia growled in irritation.

"Those wretches? They don't serve you, Zeref. You can't control them." responded Acnologia as Zeref smiled, looking back at the cave exit.

"Oh, but I can, Acnologia. I can control them."

…

**This chapter was shorter than the others, but it was filler so guess it's okay. I apologize for the lack of anybody's OCs during this chapter, but they will be appearing next chapter. I intended to release this chapter yesterday, but I guess everything will be pushed back now. I apologize for that. **

**Also, keep in mind that this is before the 3 month time skip where Team Natsu gets their power boost. I will be introducing other people's OCs next chapter so be patient, Edward and Caxe. I hope you had fun reading and I will see you all later! FF**


	6. Fear Wins Part 1

**Sorry about the lack of updates recently. I got caught up with school and I've had writers block ever since the last chapter was published. I still have writer's block but I'll try to give you guys something with this chapter. **

…

Night had descended upon Magnolia and the large wooden house that belonged to Willoughby's family was almost black thanks to its dark colored wood. Anybody passing by would have thought it was haunted and indeed, the house hadn't been used ever since Willoughby left home. Even Willoughby's parents didn't use it, leaving it to their son. It was late, but a lantern flickered in Willoughby's room, the light visible from only the back of the house.

Willoughby sat in bed, a book in his hand. His eyes were droopy, but he was far from sleepy. The room looked different from all the other rooms in the house, being the largest non-shared room in the house. The bed was huge, facing the wooden double doors that led into the room, and a single night stand by the right of the bed. The lantern sat there, casting an orange glow across Willoughby's face and the book he was holding.

The floor, like most of the rooms in the house, was littered with books of all kinds. There was really not much to the room besides that. Willoughby shivered as he turned the page in the book, suddenly stopping. He was dressed not as warmly with just a white shirt and thin pants that were comfortable enough to be worn in bed. The clothes he usually wore hung on a rack to the left of the bed and Willoughby thought about going to get the clothes, opting instead to throw the book to the floor and sit back in the bed, pulling the blankets over himself.

To be honest, he was getting tired of the house already. It had only been a few days since he had returned, but being in the house was tiring him out. It was almost as if the house sucked away at his energy, making him more tired than he already was. He smiled as he thought about that. Deep down, Willoughby knew he was a hypocrite about sleeping. The smile ended abruptly as he suddenly changed his thoughts. He had tried to fool himself into thinking that the house was the reason for his lack of energy, but he knew the real reason. It was Fairy Tail. The name made Willoughby clench his teeth in anger.

The thought of living so close to Fairy Tail made him so angry that he was actually losing sleep over it. He threw off the covers of his bed and walked over to one of the large windows on the side of the room and looked outside, the moon full and bright. The floor was cold, but he didn't care. He could only feel the anger inside of him that threatened to burst forth, only the very corner of the guild's building visible. It had been years since the incident, but Willoughby never forgave Fairy Tail for the destruction of his house.

He was about to return to bed when he suddenly felt something. He frowned and looked around the room. It wasn't like something touched him, but it was more of a chill passing through the room. He stepped forward cautiously, trying not to lose the feeling. He suddenly felt it again, this time coming from the doors. Willoughby didn't believe in ghosts, but this was certainly strange, even to him. It felt cold lime a chill, but he interpreted it as a premonition. Something was about to happen. He could feel it.

The doors were opened and Willoughby peaked out, shivering as he did so. He was scared. The hallways were dark…too dark. Still, moved forward, ignoring the fear that was threatening to take control of his mind. Everything was silent and he suddenly felt the chill one last time, coming from Valeria's room. Willoughby stood in front of the door for the longest time, hand on the doorknob. His eyes were wide with fear as he stood there, trembling.

What was this feeling? Where was it coming from? What was the cause?! A flash of something white from the corners of his eyes was enough to make the rogue mage scream in terror, turning the doorknob and launching himself into the room. A blast of cold night air greeted him, the window wide open, Valeria gone.

…

Valeria was having a very bad dream. It was unusual for her to ever have a dream, but for some reason it had happened tonight. She dreamt that she was standing in front of her old school, looking at the small brick building, a playground in the back. The sun was shining and she smiled as she looked at the building, feeling nostalgic. It had been years since she had seen the building, left being in her hometown that was shared by the other members of their little group besides Willoughby who came from a wealthy family.

This was where she first met Lloyd. She stepped forward to go inside, but she suddenly became aware of a presence behind her. She immediately turned, expecting something pleasant. She was wrong. Standing behind her was a man around her age, draped in many robes, his blood red eyes looking right at her, staring through her. Of course, Valeria did not suspect anything. This was all a dream.

"Who are you?" she asked as the man answered almost mechanically.

"I'm known as Zeref. Perhaps you have heard of me?" answered the man, Valeria raising her eyebrow at the statement.

Her memory on the subject was foggy, but she remembered from school that somebody with a similar sounding name had almost destroyed the world, releasing thousands of demons into the world. Still, she introduced herself to the strange man and the man cocked his head to the side.

"Hello, Valeria. I want you to destroy Fairy Tail. It's a simple task and I believe you will do it for me."

"No."

The answer was almost automatic, like she had been trained to respond that way for that exact question. She took a step backwards. She started to feel less and less connected with what she was dreaming. Her eyes widened as everything suddenly changed, the man in front of her suddenly becoming more and more lifelike. His expression did not change.

"This is a command, Valeria. However, this isn't just for my benefit. Your friend, Willoughby, would appreciate your help. His hatred for Fairy Tail threatens to consume him like your other friend, Armanis. Go, destroy Fairy Tail!"

Her eyes opened and she immediately sat up. Her eyes locked onto the spear she always carried and she realized what she had to do. She quickly changed clothes and opened the window, ignoring the cold air. She observed the grassy backyard before her and she jumped out the window, not even hearing the scream that came from her room soon after she landed on the wet grass. She just ran towards the tiny guild known as Fairy Tail.

**Fairy Tail**

The young girl wearing an olive tank top was silently sleeping in her room when she heard something outside. She opened her emerald green eyes and rubbed the sleep from them, trying to see what was going on. The window was dark and the girl stood up to see what was blocking the window when she suddenly froze when she saw what it was.

It was a person.

She stood there in front of the window looking straight at the young girl, unmoving. She appeared to be dressed in white dress shirt with a dark blue blazer and her eyes were fierce with anger. The girl let out a blood curdling scream and as she did so, the mysterious girl broke the window, the glass shards spilling into the room as she entered, carrying a sturdy looking spear, its steel point vicious. Her facial expression was one of pure hate as she thrust the spear forward.

"This is revenge!"

…

**Sorry about the lack of anything actually happening or the lack of Armanis and Lloyd. Also, one OC was introduced although I said I would be introducing 2 OCs. To help aid my writer's block, I have decided to split this chunk of content into 2 chapters. Hopefully this wasn't terrible, but I feel like it was the worst chapter for me to write so far. Anyways, apologize, Caxe, but your OC will appear in the next chapter, in the first scene actually. **

**I hope I can get over this writer's block! FF**


	7. Fear Wins Part 2

**I still kind of have writer's block, but it's starting to get a little bit better. I was originally going to publish this chapter yesterday, but I didn't like the flow of the fight so I decided to change it. **

**More OCs will be introduced in this chapter and there will be some more romance. I hope you guys don't mind the romance because I think it's a good way to show how the character's interact. Anyways, here's the chapter!**

…

What's going on, Shizen?!"

The door to the room flew open and a teenage boy stepped in, directly in the path of Valeria's spear. The boy screamed in pain as the steel blade sank into his flesh and Valeria quickly pulled it out, blood spattering the wooden floor of the guild. The boy quickly glared at Valeria, his green eyes fierce with anger and pain.

"Just who the hell are you?!" he screamed as blood dripped from the wound he was trying to hold closed.

"Ichiro, don't provoke her!" shouted the young girl as the teenage boy charged forward, his fists ready.

Valeria didn't even hesitate to smash the spear's butt into the boy, sending him flying back. She was without a doubt the fastest member of the group and second in brute strength. She slammed the spear's butt into the ground, globs of black water rising from the ground and floating in midair.

"I don't have time to play with you weaklings! The Sea God's Tears!"

The explosion was intense and succeeded into blowing the entire room to pieces, debris flying everywhere. Ichiro shielded Shizen from the debris and explosion, but they still flew backwards into another room, the whole guild alerted by the explosion. It was not long before the entire guild woke up and rushed to find out what was going on. They found a girl wearing a dark blue blazer with a white dress shirt underneath it, coated with sawdust. She also wore black pants and held a spear in her hands, her face one of pure hate as she watched members of the guild rush to see what was going on. Atlas could barely see who the attacker was from the crowd, but he still recognized the face. It was one of the rogue mages who killed his partner. Gajeel stepped forward from the crowd, glaring at the girl, his hands already coated in iron.

"You'll pay for this, bitch!" he screamed as he charged forward, followed by Gray and Lucy.

Valeria smirked. Only Willoughby could tell that Valeria was completely different from how she usually was. She watched the Fairy Tail mages charge in slow motion and quickly calculated how much damage she could do to them.

"I'll wipe you all out here! The Sea God's Bellow!" she screamed as a torrent of black water smashed into the group of Fairy Tail mages, the attack hitting the crowd of mages also, blasting a path of destruction through the guild, smashing everything and everyone in its way.

"Enough!"

The huge fist impacted perfectly and sent Valeria flying straight out of the guild. Makarov walked through the damaged guild, injured guild members everywhere. The amount of anger rising within him was incredible. He walked into where Shizen's room was originally and stared out at the dark sky, Magnolia's brilliant city lights underneath.

"Whoever dared to attack us today will pay for what they have done! I am offering a handsome reward for whoever manages to take that girl down! Search the city immediately!"

…

"Hey, are you alright?"

Valeria stirred at the voice and she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the smell. It was a god awful smell. She slowly sat up, looking around her surroundings. Wherever she was, it was dark. She reached out to feel the ground and it was wet, some solids floating in the water. She could hardly see anything but she could see someone crouching in front of her. She reached for her spear, but it wasn't there. The mysterious person crouching in front of her held it in his right hand.

"Hey, hey, just calm down, alright?" he said soothingly as Valeria groaned, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Where am I?" groaned Valeria as the mysterious person chuckled.

"You're in Magnolia. I randomly found you in this alley a few days ago. My name's Kyle, by the way," he said as he stuck out his hand.

Valeria shook it lazily. She couldn't even remember anything. Kyle had said that it had been a few days since she had been found. Suddenly something hit her. Her friends were waiting for her, no doubt worried sick about her. Valeria quickly stood up, Kyle looking at her as she did so.

"Where are you going? I don't think going anywhere is a good idea," he said, Valeria turning to look at him.

Her eyes were a little bit better adjusted to the darkness in the alleyway and she could actually see his face. He was quite handsome, having golden blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a grey-blue shirt with a black short sleeved jacket over it. He also wore navy blue pants and boots and had a green bandana tied around his neck. Valeria looked at him and turned back towards the alley exit, bright light shining from it.

"I need to meet up with some friends. They're probably worried sick," she said as she suddenly stumbled while trying to walk, using the dirty stone wall for support.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy. Seriously, you're too weak to go anywhere. You've been out cold for days!" he said as Valeria continued to walk forward.

She knew Kyle was right. She couldn't even think straight, but something drove her to return to her friends. They were probably worried sick, especially Lloyd. The thought of Lloyd being worried about her gave her strength as she neared the exit of the alleyway. Kyle sighed as he watched Valeria slowly walk towards the exit. There was no stopping her. The least he could do was guide her home.

"Alright, fine. Where do your friends live?" he asked as he caught up with Valeria.

"It's a really big wooden house. Probably haunted." she grunted as Kyle helped her walk out into the street.

The sun was blindingly bright to Valeria, not to mention all the people staring at her. Valeria didn't care how she looked right now. Her clothes were wet with water and crusted with all kinds of mud and garbage. Valeria's description of the house matched only one house in Magnolia, the Hartford Manor.

"Yeah, I know where that is," he said as he guided Valeria through the streets of Magnolia.

The trip did not take long and Valeria was soon standing in front of the house. People had stared at them the whole way there, whispering and pointing at them.

"Well, we're here." said Kyle as he turned around. "I'm sorry to leave so abruptly, but I usually don't stay in one place for more than a few days. I hope you're alright!"

Valeria thanked him for his help and quickly walked up the stairs to the front door. Her head was spinning and she weakly knocked on the door.

The door was opened immediately and in the door frame stood Lloyd, his headband off. His dark blue eyes widened when he saw who was at the door and he immediately pulled her inside and closed the door. Valeria collapsed into his arms and immediately began crying. Lloyd held her close, on the verge of tears himself. The last three days had been hell for him.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd. I-I didn't know what was going on. I was so sc-"

Valeria didn't even have time to finish the sentence before Lloyd pulled her in for a kiss. They stood there in front of the door for what seemed like an eternity, sharing their happiness. There was a knock at the door, but they ignored it as they continued on. The knocking continued and suddenly Lloyd and Valeria were pushed to the side, a disgruntled Willoughby pushing past them, using a cane for support.

"Get out of the way, you lovebirds," he grunted as he opened the solid wooden door slightly in the usual manner so only he could be seen.

Outside was a group of people who all had the same stamp on their bodies, the mark of Fairy Tail. The person who appeared to be leading them was a young girl, her blue hair tied into two long pigtails.

"We're Fairy Tail mages conducting a citywide search. My name is Wendy Marvell, now please let us inside."

…

**And there we are! I apologize for the lack of OCs in this chapter, but this was for introducing them. This was shorter than I intended it to be and I think next chapter will be very exciting. Thank you Blaze and Caxe for your OCs! I hope you guys had fun reading and I will see you all later! FF**


	8. Escape from Magnolia

**Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been busy with school and I've had writer's block for a while. I was also working on side projects/requests I got so I had to set aside some time for that as well. This chapter will most likely be difficult for me to write because I'm on the verge of being sick.**

**Anyways, let's get on with the chapter.**

…

"No."

His heart slammed in his chest as he shut the door, pressing his body against the door as if the mages outside were trying to force their way into the house. Lloyd and Valeria looked worried as Willoughby blockaded the door with his body, his eyes glancing over at Armanis as he came down the stairs half dressed in black shorts and a grey t-shirt with a faded logo on it. As soon as Wiloughby immediately shouted at Armanis as he came down the stairs, the leader of the rogue mages confused about what was going on.

"We have to leave now! Change clothes if you have to, but leave everything behind!" shouted Willoughby as Valeria and Lloyd nodded, quickly running through the house, leaving Armanis in the hallway, confused.

Armanis didn't even know that Valeria had returned home. He stood there in the hallway, stunned. Willoughby's face was one of fear, determination, and anger as he glared back at Armanis. He had never seen Willoughby so worked up like this. Armanis had to find out what was going on. Willoughby was standing in his way, but the rogue leader was determined to find out what was causing Willoughby so much grief.

"Who's there? Open the door, Willoughby. I want to see who's at the door." said Armanis firmly as he took a step forward.

"Shut up and get back, damn it!" shouted Willoughby, his face red with anger, the emotion completely taking over his body.

Armanis took a step back, genuinely frightened by Willoughby's sudden outburst of emotion. Armanis shook his head slowly and ran to get dressed, leaving Willoughby behind at the door.

"Open the door immediately!"

Things had sped up. Willoughby couldn't think straight as he stood at the door, his chest heaving for no apparent reason, sweat pouring from his body. But he couldn't help it! _They_ were at the door. _They _wanted to take away everything he had. _They _were the enemy. Willoughby muttered to himself, any passerby thinking he had lost his mind. But the voice from the other side suddenly brought him out of his thoughts. Willoughby looked up and adjusted his glasses, a slight smile coming to his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

"According to the law," he said, smiling to himself as Valeria passed him, dressed in new clothes. "I do not have to open the door for anybody unless on official kingdom business or an officer of the law. You see, I have done nothing and I do not intend on-."

There was a sound from the other side of the door, a soft sound like the voice of a child and Willoughby was thrown back, the front door exploding into pieces, debris flying everywhere as the rogue mage skid across the hallway into the dining room. The Fairy Tail mages stepped into the house, immediately fanning out to search the building, Wendy standing in the middle of the hallway, her face serious as Willoughby coughed and tried to stand, Valeria helping him up.

"You were wrong. We are officers. We are officers of the Fairy Law," she said as Willoughby stood up, brushing himself off.

Willoughby trembled as he looked at the destroyed front door, looking at all the cracks in the wood and debris on the ground. He pushed Valeria to the side and started walking towards Wendy, the rogue mage looking directly at her, tears falling from his face as he stood right in front of her.

"W-Why are all of you the same? Even in the long years you were gone, you still haven't changed!" wailed Willoughby, falling to his knees and sobbing.

Valeria and Armanis were standing near the back door when Willoughby suddenly started to sob, all the mages standing near him shocked. Willoughby had never shown any emotion besides indifference, so when they witnessed Willoughby actually crying, they were incredibly worried. Wendy seemed to be frozen in place as well, the cold look on her face instantly dying away, reaching her hand out to Willoughby.

"I will not allow you to hurt him any longer!"

The booming voice was recognizable by only the rogue mages and Wendy withdrew her hand just in time before the hallway's wall suddenly exploded, Willoughby being shoved back by a strong hand as the dust quickly settled, the muscular form of Lloyd taking up most of the hallway. He held a shield in his left hand that was a metallic gold color, many deep scratches in the metal. Lloyd glared at Wendy from behind his shield, only the top of half of his face visible.

"You won't be able to hurt my friends any longer. King's Field: Blockade!" he shouted as several swords shot up from the ground and walls, completely blocking the hallway.

Willoughby didn't say anything as Lloyd hoisted the rogue mage up onto his shoulder before Armanis opened the back door.

"Run!"

…

Their escape into Magnolia's countryside had been uneventful as nobody was patrolling the countryside. While they attempted to leave Magnolia the group discussed their plans for after they escaped. Willoughby had fallen asleep by then and the decision was made to once again live on the road. During the entire run the group couldn't stop thinking about Willoughby. They were worried about him. The group was closing in on the city's exit when suddenly a sword hit the ground in front of them. The group immediately split up, Lloyd looking in the direction the sword came from.

"You won't get farther than this."

Everyone stiffened when they saw the Titania walking towards them, clad in her famous Heaven's Wheel Armor, two swords in her hands as faced them. Valeria pointed her spear at her and Armanis drew his sword and the two were about to attack when Lloyd stepped forward, holding his hand out towards Armanis.

"I'll take her. I don't have any patience for this anymore," he said seriously as he took Armanis's sword in his right hand, his shield in the other.

Willoughby was passed to Armanis who placed the body on his right shoulder, moving back to give Lloyd space. Valeria grit her teeth as she guarded Armanis, her entire body alert. Everybody knew the risks. The Titania was not one to be fooled with. Lloyd seemed to sense their fears and he smiled as he raised his shield, pointing his sword at Erza.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hold back at all," he said as he charged forward, roaring ferociously.

"Blumenblatt!" shouted Erza as hundreds of swords appeared around her, every single one of them flying towards Lloyd as he charged, wearing no armor besides his breastplate and his shield.

The hail of swords struck with incredible force, but Lloyd charged on, the shield acquiring a few scratches. The Pride Slayer smiled as Erza charged forward to meet him in direct combat, her swords slamming against his shield.

"This is the shield that withstood a thousand lions!" he shouted as he raised his sword to attack Erza. "This is the sword that slew a thousand lions*!"

He slammed it against one of Erza's swords, both blades shattering as they clashed against each other. As metal shards flew everywhere, Lloyd acted quickly. He knew surprise and quick movements would be the things to win the battle. He wasn't strong enough to challenge Titania in brute strength. He smashed the shield in her and as she was thrown back, he grabbed her other sword, slashing her with it as she fell, using his greatest strength to send her smashing into the ground**.

The attack didn't do enough damage, Lloyd turning to run with the rest of the group as Erza struggled to get up, only disoriented by Lloyd's attacks. Wendy had no doubt alerted the rest of the guild, but she didn't know if they would figure out that they had managed to slow her down. They were fast and they disappeared from Erza's sight in just a few minutes. She narrowed her eyes as they disappeared. Whoever they were, there was more to them than just killing and plundering. Perhaps she and the rest of Fairy Tail had underestimated them.

**Somewhere far from Magnolia**

It was pure luck they had managed to escape. Lloyd's distraction of Erza allowed them to actually make it out of the city because Fairy Tail's concentration on the many houses in the city and because they had been distracted by the happenings in the large wooden house they thought had been abandoned. They had from the city of Magnolia and they didn't look back until they reached an abandoned quarry, the group stopping to rest there.

Armanis sat on a block of stone, thinking. Willoughby had woken up and was sitting on a broken log, Lloyd and Valeria leaned against the rocky walls of the quarry, Armanis observing the group. Morale looked low, especially to Valeria and Willoughby. Armanis sighed as he straightened his back. He had been traveling with his friends for a very long time, but he had just realized that he knew very little about them and what drove them. He glanced at Willoughby and he stood up, clearing his throat.

"Well, I think everybody here knows what we need to do," he said as everyone looked at him.

Nobody said anything. Willoughby looked up at Armanis, he appeared to be completely awake, a first for him. He adjusted his glasses and seemed very calm as Armanis looked around the group. Valeria's face grew red as Armanis looked at her. He glanced at Lloyd who gave him a nod.

"I'm sorry for being such a nuisance," Valeria blurted out suddenly, everyone looking at her. "I shouldn't have run off like that. You guys were worried sick and I didn't know what I was thinking."

Willoughby frowned as Armanis and Lloyd gave him a questioning look. He stood up and shook his head, Valeria looking at him in surprise. While Valeria had been missing, Willoughby had told Armanis and Lloyd inconsistencies in Valeria's behavior. Willoughby looked her in the eyes.

"That wasn't your fault. That night I sensed something different about you. It was a feeling that I occasionally felt from all of us, including myself. However, that night it was more obvious. I never felt it more strongly than I did that night. Whatever you did, it wasn't you doing it." said Willoughby seriously, everything getting quiet as he did so.

"I refuse to believe that you endangered the group by acting rashly that night. It just isn't you, Val." said Lloyd firmly as she hugged him, Armanis nodding his head and clearing his throat.

"Anyways, we need to get stronger. We ran from an enemy." He glanced at Willoughby. "That can't happen again, ever."

"What do you suggest we do? We're pretty much wanted criminals. Nobody will ever hire us." said Willoughby as everybody nodded their heads.

Armanis smiled. Willoughby had brought up a valid point, but Armanis had been thinking about this idea for a very long time. It was to make their connection as a team official.

"I say we form an official mercenary group, a guild if you want to call it that, and take down any enemy who comes our way. We'll strive for danger. We'll risk our lives every day. Isn't that the adventure we wanted?" asked Armanis as Willoughby immediately stood up.

"Count me in," said the rogue mage with the glasses. "I don't fancy dying, but I'd rather die trying to get stronger and having an adventure than be taken as a criminal."

Valeria and Lloyd joined in soon after that and it was official. They were now The Rogue Crew.

**Fairy Tail**

Everybody seemed to be down in the guild. As everyone gathered in the main hall, you could feel the depression. Rumor had it that the attacker of the guild had escaped and those who had been responsible for the death of Hiro was traveling with them. The Grand Magic Games were the last things on their minds as Makarov took the stage, observing the members of his guild, a big smile on his face.

"Alright, you brats, listen up! I know we've hit a new low recently, but that won't stop us from becoming the number one guild in Fiore again!" he shouted, people murmuring as he continued.

"I know that all of you are restless because of what recently happened, but we're going to have to shift a majority of the resources we have towards something else." said Makarov as a cry of protest came from the group of mages.

The most vocal was Atlas, the slowing mage who had lost his partner, Hiro, to the rogue mages. Also angry were Ichiro and Shizen who had been attacked just a few days before. Makarov waited for the cries to die down before continuing. It broke his heart to have to shift away from catching those responsible, but this had to be done first.

"We will participate in the Grand Magic Games in order to win our title back! I'll be creating a special group to hunt down those responsible for the attacks on the guild with Atlas in charge of it." said Makarov, everyone nodding in agreement and voicing their approval.

"We won't let our guild fade away and we certainly won't let them think we're soft! We're Fairy Tail! Now go out there and let's get them!"

**Near Crocus**

The winds made the air at the top of the mountains frigid, but Zeref didn't mind. He liked the look of the city of Crocus and the huge stadium before him. In just a few months the stadium would be packed with people who would no doubt cheer for their favorite, Saber Tooth, to win once again. However, Zeref was looking forward to something else. He looked to his left to see his companion, Acnologia, observing the scene before him, growling softly.

"She's quiet resilient, isn't she?" asked Acnologia, obviously amused.

"…Yes. It's astounding how good she really is. I didn't know somebody like you could approve of a human's actions." said Zeref snidely as Acnologia growled.

"Do not forget you were the one who changed me. Still, I am impressed by her."

Zeref looked up at the sky and thought for a quick second before crossing his arms, looking at the very tip of the golden palace of Crocus. He would have smiled, but he decided against it.

"You may be impressed, but I am not. Perhaps your years as a dragon have made you forget how we humans really are."

Acnologia let out a snort and then a deep rumbling that Zeref knew was a laugh. He gave Acnologia an annoyed glance as the dragon king spoke responded to him.

"If you think you are a human, you are sorely mistaken. Someone of your strength has risen above those of men and dragons, for you are a god among dragons." rumbled Acnologia as Zeref shrugged at his words.

Perhaps there had been a day where he would have loved to hear such a title given to him, but now he was not so sure that was what he wanted. He hated to admit it, but he wasn't truly awake. Still, he knew one thing for sure: the Dragon King Festival would take place soon and when it did, the entire world would tremble as he walked the earth as a god among dragons whether he wanted to or not.

_Three months passed since Makarov delivered his speech. The Rogue Crew worked furiously as they went on adventure after adventure, taking down monsters, sparring each other, and even hunting for treasure. Their strength grew rapidly and so did their bonds. Meanwhile, Fairy Tail trained, but in a different way. They managed to awaken the Second Origin, allowing them to attain a new level of magic. However, they did not know that the tournament they were about to participate in would be a collision of misfortune and adventure._

…

They stood outside of the stadium, watching as everybody went inside, excited to see who would be the strongest guild. Once the last person had entered the stadium did they walk towards the entrance. It had been a hard three months of countless battles and life threatening situations. However, it was worth it. They were stronger than they could have ever hoped to be and a new level of confidence had been found.

They were halfway into the stadium when Lloyd suddenly stopped to glance over at Armanis. They had all acquired new outfits, but Lloyd sensed something truly different from Armanis.

"What are you so afraid of?" he asked as Armanis glanced at him and smiled.

"I'm not afraid. I'm excited," he said confidently as the group continued, entering the stadium together.

But in truth, he was afraid.

…

**Quite a chapter here and I did not expect it to rely so much on the main characters. We did get to see Zeref and Acnologia again, but not many OCs. I apologize again for that. I'll be using OCs more often in the next chapter. I was originally going to have Hisui make another appearance but I'm saving that for later. **

**References: *This might confuse people because how it came out. Armanis's sword isn't special in any way. It's a generic sword he bought at a shop. Lloyd is just invoking one of his attacks, Sword of the Lion**

****You have to understand that Lloyd is trying his hardest right now. You also have to take into account that Erza hasn't really fought anybody in a very long time. Also, she doesn't know much about The Rogue Crew at all. They're not infamous enough to be known so she sort of underestimated them. It wasn't much of a victory for Lloyd though because Erza was far from being taken out of the battle. All they could do was distract her long enough to get a far enough head start on her. **

**I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please drop a review! Thanks and I will see you all later. FF**


	9. The Ultimate King

**Sorry for the lack of updates. I was once again busy with school and I seriously had the worst writer's block. I still have writer's block now and I apologize if this chapter is terrible in comparison with the others. I'm really running out of time to write anything so updates will be harder to come by now. **

**Please drop a review because it really helps! Anyways, let's get on with the story.**

…

"It's the best! The undefeated! The ultimate king! Saber Tooth!"

It had been years. As the crowds cheered wildly as the number one guild in Fiore entered the stadium, Armanis Lexington smiled slowly, his mind calculating almost everything about the group participating. The incredibly noisy cheers of the crowd did not bother him as he was sitting in a special box reserved for the wealthy. His eyes were focused on Sting as the Saber Tooth mage laughed, his hands in the air triumphantly as people screamed praise in their name.

"Arrogance…"

The low growl of disapproval came from next to Armanis, the leader of The Rogue Crew turning to look at his friend, Lloyd. The most muscular member of the group had grown even more muscular during their time spent in training although the wealth they had acquired during their adventure was not reflected in his clothes. Armanis glanced over at Valeria and Willoughby, quickly looking back at Lloyd. The Pride Slayer's clothes were almost exactly the same although he now wore an engraved breastplate, a newly acquired sword at his side. Armanis smiled as he looked back at the stadium.

"Don't worry, Lloyd. We will have our chance to humble them soon enough," he said calmly as Lloyd grunted.

The competing guilds all faced each other and Armanis chuckled when he thought how much fun this year's games would be. Sting and Natsu seemed to trade verbal blows as they said spoke to each other, their words inaudible to the audience. Armanis looked around the stadium and couldn't help but feel strangely joyful. He was about to witness the first Grand Magic Games of his life and his calculating eyes narrowed as his gaze locked onto Sting. He would soon witness the death of a king firsthand.

**The King's Palace**

Princess Hisui stood in front of the most important doorway in the entire country. It towered over her, the huge gate shut tightly, unable to be opened by human hands alone. She followed the gate's elaborate design before she stepped back to admire the gate, her smile slowly disappearing when she noticed everything about it.

It had two large leg-like pieces coming from the sides, giving it the appearance of an animal waiting to strike. Despite being plated with gold and having the appearance of a majestic gateway into heaven, Hisui knew that the only thing behind the door was a more bearable hell. The gold and fancy appearance of the gate couldn't hide its true purpose.

The princess would have continued to observe the gate, but the sound of footprints made her turn to look at who was approaching. She smiled weakly when she saw that it was Arcadios, the colonel bowing when she saw him. The knight looked around the huge stone room where the gateway was kept and he looked at the princess, knowing that she was concerned about what would happen in a few days.

"Your grace, the games have begun and Hidden is about to start. Would it suit you to watch the games with your father?" asked Arcadios, Hisui turning to look at him, the Eclipse Gate looming over her shoulder like a hungry animal.

The princess had a hard look in her eyes as she looked at Arcadios, the knight noticing that she looked several years older due to the look of worry on her face. She looked…defeated. They stared at each other for a while, Arcadios thinking about what Hisui was about to say. Finally, she spoke.

"I wish you would have told me about the murders sooner, Arcadios."

The sound of disappointment in her voice struck Arcadios as the knight stepped forward, his eyes wide. Knowledge of the murders was strictly military only, yet she had managed to find out? Arcadios knelt on the ground, acknowledging his failure while Hisui gave him a sad look, looking back at the gate.

"Your grace, knowledge of the murder was for military officers only. I am sorry to have failed to report everything to you as I swore, but I didn't want to worry you further," he responded quickly, Hisui frowning as she looked at the armored man, her patience slowly disappearing.

"You didn't want to worry me any further? Arcadios, Zeref and Acnologia plan to destroy this kingdom in less than a week. Everyone's lives are in danger and you think hiding a few murders will ease my burdens? I am as worried as somebody could possibly get!" she said angrily as she motioned for Arcadios to stand. "I am the princess and the leader of The Eclipse Project and I should have the right to know of all things that trouble my kingdom. Tell me what you know about the murders."

The colonel nodded his head quickly, smiling inwardly. Hisui's spirit wasn't yet broken. She would fight on for her people.

"We counted forty dead people with at least five of them being mages utilizing Dragon Slayer magic. The killings occurred throughout Fiore over a three month period. We don't have suspects yet, but I suspect that the killings were not carried out by mages due to the fact that swords and other bladed weapons were used. We still don't have a motive." explained Arcadios, Hisui nodding her head as a faint memory returned to her.

She shook her head. The memory didn't relate to the recent killings and it had been finished up months ago. Hisui shivered as she looked Arcadios in the eyes. In just five days the country of Fiore might not exist anymore.

"Very well, tell me about our celestial mage."

**Grand Magic Games stadium**

"Jura Nekis has won the match!"

Willoughby's chuckle could be heard as Armanis's grip tightened on the brass railing of their observation box. The first day of the Grand Magic Games had concluded and Saber Tooth had won a fantastic victory, completely sweeping Hidden. Armanis had been confident in the beginning, but fear started to rise up within him. If Rufus, the, so called, "Crimson Poet" could win so easily against everybody in the stadium, just how strong was Sting?

People were leaving and the stadium slowly drained of people, leaving the four rogue mages standing in the observation box, looking down at an empty stadium. Armanis was simulating a fight between himself and Sting, his heart beating wildly when there was the sound of somebody tapping metal against concrete. He turned to his left to see Valeria standing there, her new steel spear in her hand right hand, the butt of the magnificent weapon tapping the concrete floor.

She had her left hand on her hip and she was dressed in a dark green blazer with golden thread woven into the rich fabric, the buttons undone in her usual style, a white dress shirt underneath. She also wore her usual black skirt and her face was cheerful.

"Don't worry about it, Armanis. We trained just as much as they did, if not more. We can't run, ever. You said that, remember?"

Armanis nodded, smiling as he remembered when they had run away from Fairy Tail several months earlier. The rogue mages turned to leave the stadium with their hopes at a whole new level. Valeria was right. They had spent three entire months training and Armanis was not about to let it go to waste. They stepped out of the stadium and they entered the city of Crocus, Armanis stopping for a second to put on his newly made tricorn hat with silver lace trimming. He smiled to himself as he followed his friends back to their lodgings, simulating yet another fight in his mind. Victory would be hard fought and hard won, but Armanis was determined to win, even if it meant calling upon great evil.

**Near the Fairy Tail lodging**

Today's defeat had been humiliating, but it couldn't be helped. Jellal disguised as Mystogan stood outside of the guild's lodgings, smiling to himself. Hearing the guild laugh and cheer once again was the best thing he had ever heard despite all the problems swirling within his mind. It was getting late and the moon had come out, casting its silver colored light all across the city.

Despite all the partying and celebrations, Jellal never forgot what he was truly here to do. He did want to help Fairy Tail, but it was merely a bonus. He was to investigate the strange magical power coming from the Grand Magic Games and Jellal had noted that the feeling had grown stronger this year. Suddenly something caught his attention.

Jellal quickly locked onto the feeling and he followed it, cautiously walking through the streets of Crocus. The feeling was a tiny fraction of what he usually felt from the games every year, but it was still interesting. Some Fairy Tail mages had described a similar feeling to him especially three mages named Ichiro, Shizen, and Atlas. Jellal quickened his pace. He had to figure out what was causing this feeling.

…

Strangely, the feeling led him to a busy street that was brightly illuminated with the lights of stores and vendors, crowds of people walking through the street. Jellal walked through the crowds without hesitation, trying to find the source of the strange feeling. The noise of the masses didn't distract him much as the feeling was growing stronger by the second.

Suddenly, he found the source. It had grown increasingly more crowded as he had ventured, but it had been worth it as he saw who the source was. It was a man dressed in an expensive trench coat, an equally expensive tricorn atop his head, his brown hair visible. The man was speaking to someone who was using a wooden cane for support, a top hat on his head. The man with the cane wore glasses and looked extremely tired, wearing a black shoulder cape with a black double breasted suit, a black bird on his shoulder.

Jellal started to approach and the man with the top hat glanced at him, stopping his speech with the other man, nodding his head as he turned to leave, disappearing into the crowd. Jellal muttered a curse under his breath. He had most likely been detected. The other man had already started to walk away, Jellal lightly jogging after him, reaching out to grab the man.

"Wait right there!"

Jellal made eye contact with the man as he turned, his calculating brown eyes staring coldly at him.

"I believe you are a mage of Fairy Tail, the one who lost the match against Jura?" he asked coolly as Jellal glared at him.

"Just who are you?" demanded the former Wizard Saint as Armanis chuckled, glaring back at him.

"I would advise you and your entire guild to back off, Mystogan. We've got better things to do than quarrel with the weakest guild in Fairy Tail." He said coldly as Jellal tightened his grip on Armanis's arm.

The encounter was suddenly interrupted as a patrol of soldiers gave them a glare, Jellal quickly letting go of Armanis's arm. The rogue mage smiled as he turned and waved to Jellal without looking back.

"Good bye, Mystogan. I hopefully won't have to ever deal with you or your guild ever again."

Jellal tightened his fists as the man walked away, disappearing quickly into the city. It was without a doubt that that man once had contact with Zeref.

…

**Sorry if you guys didn't like this chapter as much. I'm pretty slow in terms of chapters and ideas recently so I hope you excuse me. I think that's all I have to say for this chapter. Thanks for reading! FF**


	10. Do Not Run

**This has been a pretty busy week for me. I have been caught up with school work and reading a manga known as Attack on Tit****an****an. I finished the series so far today and I think it's a really good series. Anyways, I will probably working on the requests I received (The Girl Who Chases the Night) and I will be starting another side project perhaps today or tomorrow. **

**I hope you guys will forgive the short skips in the GMG. I think that this is the best way to handle the games. This story is more than halfway done and I think it'll be over within 2-3 chapters. Let's get on with the story and don't forget to drop a review!**

…

It was a flaw in my plan, a very noticeable flaw. As I walked towards the huge stone stadium that loomed ahead of me, I probably looked completely normal. After all, I was good at hiding things from others. But on the inside, I was slowly dying. I could already that my plan was starting to fall apart. My hands curled into fists and I tried not to clench my teeth as I passed the numerous houses along the cobblestone streets. I was thankful that there was nobody around to see me.

I was dressed more or less the same as the night I met Mystogan. I didn't bother wearing anything else. I heard the flapping of wings and I looked up to see a group of crows fly ahead of me. I stopped to look at the black scavengers, smiling weakly. This was the only chance I had to get rid of my enemies.

Fairy Tail was the biggest flaw in my plan. They were violently unpredictable and they were no pushovers. I didn't attend the second or third day of the games because I was so terrified of a face to face meeting with Fairy Tail. I stopped walking. The rapid approach of the concrete stadium surprised me and I looked up at the very top of the huge building, admiring its lack of embellishment. Today was the fourth day of the games and tomorrow the games would conclude.

I stretched my back before putting my left foot on the first concrete step in front of me. Despite all of this, I still had money. Money allowed me to avoid the masses of people who could identify me. The concrete stairs led straight to the high class observation boxes. Today, I would be alone. I climbed the stairs confidently, looking forward to the solitude the observation box would offer me.

I adjusted my coat and stepped into the luxurious room, complete with wine, leather seats, and a large table piled with food. I stepped up to the box's brass railing and I observed the stadium like I had during the first day. I lowered my hat just in case and I tried not to glance towards Fairy Tail's section of the stadium.

It didn't work.

I found myself looking every few seconds and nothing could stop me from looking over at the most obnoxious observers in the entire stadium, waving flags and screaming as their guild's team entered the stadium. However, the black birds that fluttered about above the stadium and landed near the stands of every guild and observed the crowd with their beady black eyes comforted me. One even landed on my hat in order to keep me company and I silently thanked Willoughby.

Still, Fairy Tail's obnoxious tendencies were a boon. It most likely meant that they didn't suspect anything and that Mystogan had kept quiet about what he had seen. I backed away from the railing, feeling better than before. I sat down in one of the leather seats and poured myself a drink, sipping it as the games began. Perhaps I would be able to suppress my nerves with alcohol and excitement from the games.

…

"Sting and Rogue from Saber Tooth versus Natsu and Gajeel from Fairy Tail is the next battle!"

I had been enjoying the games until then. I immediately stood up, threw the glass of alcohol aside and found myself standing at the edge of the railing. There was a quiet whining noise coming from the back of my head, but I ignored it as I watched the two teams face each other. Four dragon slayers were about to fight. I watched Sting and Natsu very carefully and glanced at the Fairy Tail stands. No change in their activities.

My heart was pounding as I glanced around the stadium, unable to control myself. Finally, the fight was about to happen. I would be able to see Sting's strength. I would be able to see if I was able to defeat him and claim my revenge.

"Let the match begin!"

**Fairy Tail stands**

Mystogan was nowhere to be seen in the guild stands, but Makarov knew he was silently walking through the stadium, watching for anything suspicious. From somewhere he heard a crow let out a caw, but he didn't pay attention to it. The old guild master was more concerned about the current matchup and what Mystogan had said a few days ago.

The murderer was here, in this very stadium, no doubt watching their guild closely. Everything had been explained in full detail, although to only a select few. Only the S-Class mages and Team Natsu were briefed. Makarov closed his eyes, thinking decision through. Unfortunately, they couldn't go all out, at least not yet. Disrupting the games was out of the question.

He opened his eyes, focusing directly on one of the observation boxes, a young man wearing an expensive looking tricorn standing there. His description directly matched how Mystogan described the man. Makarov glowered as he watched the murderer. He seemed to be unaware of the guild master's gaze

"That's him, isn't it?"

The soft voice startled Makarov, and he looked to his left where a young woman sat with her feet hanging off the edge into the arena. She was child-like with long blonde hair and wearing a frilly pink layered robe. Makarov nodded slowly.

"Yes, he's the one who killed a member of our guild." answered the guild master as the woman stared up at the observation box.

"I can feel something different from him. I've felt something like this before… Are you absolutely sure that he is the one?" asked the woman, narrowing her eyes as she continued to look at the murderer.

"Yes, first, he is the one without a doubt."

The woman nodded her head and closed her eyes. Makarov observed her silently. She was Mavis, the legendary founder of Fairy Tail. Her eyes opened suddenly, an incredible ferocity in them.

"Then I hereby allow you to bring down the judgment of the fairies. He must not live."

**Arena**

"Light Dragon's Roar!"

The attack was an incredibly showy attack, the entire crowd impressed by the look of it. However, Natsu easily dodged it and Rogue was immediately hit with an attack from Gajeel, sending the shadow dragon slayer flying towards Natsu. Sting didn't see the hit from Natsu and soon the two Saber Tooth dragon slayers were caught up in a tornado of fire.

Natsu and Gajeel didn't even have a scratch. The fight looked like it was about to end, a complete victory for Fairy Tail. However, Sting and Rogue stood up, brushing themselves off, grinning. The entire crowd was holding their breath as the two slayers suddenly went into an entirely new state, their bodies surrounded by their respective element.

Natsu was immediately hit with a blast of holy light and Gajeel was overtaken by Rogue's kick, sending the two Fairy Tail dragon slayers back. The match quickly took a turn for the worse as Sting and Rogue continued to land blow after blow on Natsu and Gajeel, the two Fairy Tail mages unable to catch up. Sting planted a mark on Natsu and Rogue appeared behind Gajeel, a finishing move ready. It seemed like the fight was over, but this time in favor of Saber Tooth.

Unfortunately for Saber Tooth, the tides turned yet again with Gajeel catching Rogue's fist, smashing his elbow straight into Rogue's chin. Sting didn't get away either, Natsu burning Sting's mark away and then smashing his fist right into Sting's face. Another punch was thrown and Sting couldn't dodge it. Even though he was battered, Sting smiled as he faced Natsu.

"I underestimated you. I guess I'll have to use my best technique! Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Holy Nova!"

The attack was impressive, blinding the entire stadium for a few seconds, but it was of no use. Natsu simply blew straight through the attack, grabbing Sting and then throwing him down. Rogue attempted to use the surprise of everybody in the stadium to attack Gajeel from behind, but a single punch to the face was enough to knock Rogue down. It was obvious that the levels of Fairy Tal and Saber Tooth were vastly different.

"Dragon Force."

Once again, Saber Tooth took everybody off guard as both of their slayers activated Dragon Force…_at will._ Natsu and Gajeel were unprepared at first, taking hits from just Sting as Rogue stood on the sidelines. The floor of the stadium was destroyed during the fight, forcing everybody to switch to lacrima vision, but there was nothing more to watch. Natsu and Gajeel were on the floor, hopelessly outmatched by Sting's power.

"Heh, you're pretty good. However, I'll be enough to defeat both of you."

Natsu's confident words shook Saber Tooth's confidence as Natsu stood up, even more fired up. Gajeel was pushed into a mine cart and Natsu took both of Saber Tooth's dragon slayers on, defeating them completely. Sting and Rogue were quickly defeated, their dragon force enhanced skills useless against Natsu. Saber Tooth was humiliated and Fairy Tail stood as the number one guild in Fiore once again.

…

"H-Hah…no way that just happened. T-That's impossible!" shouted Armanis as his entire body shook with excitement.

The leader of the Rogue Crew was grabbing onto the rail the entire time, watching the whole fight with incredible interest. It was the single most interesting event of his life. Joy filled Armanis as he backed away from the railing, downed another glass of alcohol and laughed loudly, pounding his fist on the brass railing.

"That's all they had?! I was worried over nothing! Saber Tooth is pathetic! This…this is a very good omen. It shall be tonight! You hear me, Sting? It'll be tonight that I finally claim my revenge!" he shouted happily as he turned to leave the observation box.

However, he was noticed by somebody in the Fairy Tail stands. His sudden motions had attracted his attention and the person who saw him noticed who it was immediately. The clothes were slightly different, but it was still the same person.

"You…You dare make an appearance here, eh? I'll avenge my partner no matter what!" shouted Atlas as he tore away from the stands, Erza and Gray following him just in case.

…

Armanis had sent Valeria, Lloyd, and Willoughby to do some research on the surrounding area. He hadn't heard from any of them, but he assumed that they had completed their work. He was in a very good mood. Two of Saber Tooth's strongest members were just humiliated in front of everybody in the stadium.

He walked down the stairs leading to a small marketplace with a fountain in the middle. Everybody seemed to be at the games, so nobody was in the marketplace, all the stalls closed. Armanis had walls at his sides and he was about to walk into the marketplace when suddenly something slammed in his back, knocking him down. He was quickly grabbed and slammed into a wall. The pain was excruciating, but Armanis managed to open his eyes to see his attacker. It was a familiar face.

"You thought you could run, eh? I'll get revenge for my partner, you bastard!" shouted Atlas angrily as he smashed him against the wall again, throwing him onto the stairs.

Armanis coughed up blood as Atlas began to kick him. The rogue mage reached for his sword, but the blade was quickly frozen into its sheath. Atlas stopped kicking to see who had frozen the sword. Gray and Erza quickly went down the stairs, frowning. Armanis groaned as he saw Erza look down at him.

"Atlas, calm yourself." said Erza, Atlas pushing her away.

"You don't know what this piece of shit did. I'm going to kill him!" he shouted angrily as he grabbed Armanis and threw him against the stone wall once again, looking right into his eyes.

"Atlas, we need him alive! Stop!" shouted Gray, Atlas ignoring the ice mage.

"I'm going to kill you," growled Atlas as Armanis slowly smiled.

Armanis chuckled as Atlas glared at him. Something had clicked in Armanis's mind. This was life or death now.

"Alright, kill me." said Armanis calmly as Atlas growled, smashing him into the wall again.

This only made things worse.

"What, you can't do it? Why can't you kill me, Atlas? Go ahead and do it!" screamed Armanis, pain suddenly turning into anger as Atlas pulled out a knife.

Armanis scoffed at the appearance of a knife. His anger was making him reckless.

"What do you have that out for? You can't do it." taunted Armanis as Atlas suddenly stabbed the knife where Armanis's neck used to be.

Armanis barely managed to kick Atlas out of the way so he could move out of harm's way. The rogue mage fell to the ground, breathing hard. His head was pounding and he saw Atlas breathing heavily. The sun was starting to go down. Armanis tried to smile but couldn't. He knew Fairy Tail would be his downfall.

"That's enough."

A shadow fell over him and Armanis looked up to see Lloyd and Valeria towering over him. They faced the Fairy Tail mages who immediately switched to their battle formations. Lloyd quickly helped Armanis stand and Fairy Tail launched the first attack.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

The attack didn't get very far before it suddenly melted and smashed into Gray, Valeria grinning as it did so. Erza and Atlas teamed up against Lloyd, but his shield was out before anybody could even get close. Their attacks were useless against the shield and Erza had to change into her Knight Armor before she could even hope to scratch Lloyd's shield. The fight was relatively one sided, but Armanis watched the whole thing, the annoying whining noise in the back of his head growing louder.

"Stop fighting," he said quietly. Nobody heard him.

"Stop fight!" he shouted angrily as Lloyd looked at him from behind his shield, one of Erza's swords clashing against the polished metal.

"Armanis, you said we couldn't run anymore!" shouted Lloyd as Valeria nodded her head, turning Gray's attacks against him with her powers as a Sea God Slayer.

Armanis seemed incredibly angry as he replied. The whining noise was growing louder with every second.

"Who cares about that. We have better things to do. Stop fighting!" he screamed as the two rogue mages slowly withdrew from the fight, switching to defensive tactics.

Lloyd quickly grabbed Armanis and slung him over his shoulder and Valeria hastily created a barrier of water to help with their escape. The rogue mages ran from Fairy Tail for the third time and by the time anybody was able to break through the barrier, the rogue mages were gone.

…

Armanis was laid out on a makeshift bed, single mattress stuffed with straw. There was little to no light in the cramped basement, Lloyd carrying the lantern. Willoughby was already in the hiding spot, feeding the crow he kept on his shoulder, raising an eye brow as the three rogues entered.

"You guys look like you've seen better days. Run into trouble?" asked Willoughby jokingly as Lloyd grunted.

"Fairy Tail was beating Armanis up pretty badly. They ambushed him like cowards. We barely got there in time."

"Well, it looks like Fairy Tail knows something's up. I guess this changes-."

"No, this doesn't change anything." Armanis sat up from the makeshift bed. "We end all of this tonight."

**King's Palace**

Hisui was standing on the balcony when the roar was heard. It was an incredibly savage and barbaric roar. It shook the entire city of Crocus and echoed through the mountains surrounding the city. Hisui's heart skipped a beat when she heard it. Arcadio immediately found his way to her room and she turned to look Arcadios straight in the eye, a look of despair on her face.

"He's here."

…

**I am terribly sorry for the wait. I really hope you guys haven't abandoned this story and I also apologize for the lack of OCs for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I believe the next one will be the story's end. Once I finish this story I promise I will begin work on the request I received. **

**Thanks for reading! FF**


	11. Gathering

**Hello, everybody! It's been about a month since I put out the last chapter and I hope you guys enjoy this one! This story will probably be a monthly release until Spring Break rolls around in about 2 weeks. As soon as this story is over, I will begin thinking of a new big project. **

**This story has at least 4 more chapters to go and I wanted to thank everybody who reviewed the first chapter for giving me the confidence to go ahead with this story. Here's the new chapter!**

…

"I am very disappointed in you both."

The king's words were like daggers through Rogue's heart, but the dragon slayer knew that his blonde partner was feeling worse. Fiore's king sat in his throne, frowning at them. They were the only ones in the room besides a pair of heavily armed guards sitting next to the golden throne, eyeing the two dragon slayers suspiciously.

"I'm sorry for the disappointment, your majesty…" mumbled Rogue as the king shook his head.

For some strange reason, every dragon slayer in the city was suddenly called up and ordered to meet in the king's palace. Sting and Rogue had come to the palace, but they were quickly pulled aside and thrust into the throne room to meet with the king. Rogue and Sting knelt in front of the king and the Shadow Dragon Slayer sighed quietly and cursed under his breath.

The defeat had been humiliating. The fans who had once crowded Saber Tooth's stands and guild building now jeered and harassed the guild members. Nobody respected Saber Tooth anymore. Rogue grimaced and closed his eyes as he remembered Gemma's wrath after the humiliating match. The twin dragon slayers were dismissed as scum and they disappeared to their rooms as Gemma continued on his rampage, destroying furniture and shattering glassware.

Sting didn't say a word during the entire rant and he continued to be silent, even now. Rogue opened his eyes and glanced over at Sting. The Light Dragon Slayer was just staring down at the lavish, red velvet carpet. He was completely out of it. An audience with the king still didn't answer Rogue's questions. Why had they been called? Was there a problem with the matches? He doubted that all the dragon slayers had been called just to meet with the king. The king's words were heard, but Rogue pushed them to the back of his mind.

"I ordered that you fight last because I thought you could have put on a spectacular show! I was so excited when you were about to fight and imagine my disappointment when both of you were defeated by somebody from the worst guild in the world." said the king as he shook his head. "Leave the room, both of you. My daughter has something to say to you as well."

The two dragon slayers from Saber Tooth stood, bowed, and left the throne room quickly. Rogue was glad to leave. He didn't want to waste time being scolded by some silly old man who thought himself as god because he wore a crown of gold.

…

Rogue and Sting entered the princess's room quietly. It was a simple room, but it was located in a high tower. The princess was sitting in a chair, facing the door. A man in war armor was standing next to her, a serious look on his face. Rogue scanned the room quickly and bowed, Sting following suit. The princess looked relieved when she saw them come in.

"Ah, Sting and Rogue! I'm glad you could make it in time," she said, a smile coming to her face.

"Thank you for this invitation, your grace. However, I must ask why we have been called," said Rogue coolly as Sting nodded his head slightly.

The knight answered this question. Rogue realized that the knight standing next to her was Colonel Arcadios, a man that often advised the king. Rogue had seen them often, conversing with each other.

"Your guild has answered the call to defend the castle and protect the princess herself from any harm that may come to her."

"What do you mean? Are we under attack? If so, who are we being attacked by?" asked Rogue, narrowing his eyes at Arcadios.

"We are not under attack…_yet_. The enemy we soon face is a master of evil and many consider him the God of Magic. The enemy we face is Zeref himself." said Hisui gravely as Sting and Rogue looked at her incredulously.

Rogue had been caught off guard. The enemy was Zeref?! The Shadow Dragon Slayer was about to say something when suddenly bells started to go off in the courtyard of the castle. Several shouts and screams could be heard and Arcadios immediately ran over to the window and looked outside. He looked over at the princess and nodded, the princess sighing and closing her eyes.

"We have managed to block off several entrances to the castle. Your guild will hold the remaining entrances while we rush to completely seal the enemy off. The other dragon slayers have been ordered to stay with me. Now go! The soldiers shall direct you to where you need to go!" she shouted as Rogue and Sting took off running, Rogue grunting as he processed all the information he had received.

Nobody had even told them who was attacking the castle. Zeref couldn't just attack the castle by himself. He would need an army. So just who was attacking the most heavily guarded castle in the kingdom?! Rogue growled with frustration as the two dragon slayers ran through the hallways, directed by passing soldiers. A series of explosions rocked the castle and Sting was eventually separated from him. Rogue found himself standing in an abandoned tunnel that had collapsed, completely submerging a large part of the floor. A single light shone from the wall and Rogue folded his arms. There was nothing he could do. He just had to wait.

…

"Hey! Who are you?!" demanded a soldier as he slowly approached, spear in hand.

The soldier let out a grunt and then fell backwards, clutching his shoulder, a metal spear point embedded in his shoulder. A man wearing armor, a helmet covering his entire face came forth from the shadows, a sword in hand. With a single stroke he silenced the guard.

"Everything is going as planned, sir." said the armored man as Armanis stepped out of the shadows, sword in hand.

The rogue mage gave the soldier a curt nod as the illusion quickly faded away. He had not taken a well-known route, so he was surprised when he saw a guard patrolling the area. Armanis brushed the dust off his coat and grinned as he stepped into the light, looking up. A steel grate had been placed above, a lantern shining light down below.

"So, this path leads to a dungeon? Unexpected, but alright." murmured Armanis as he moved quickly, heading towards a steel door that had a small window, a staircase seen behind it.

The door opened easily and the stairs were clear of guards. At the top of the stairs there was a short hallway leading directly into the palace. Armanis grinned. This was the perfect path. He was almost out of the hallway when the wall to his left burst open, sending the rogue mage flying against the other side.

"What the hell?!" shouted Armanis as the dust settled, looking up at the broken wall.

His eyes widened when he saw who was standing there. He had fierce eyes that seemed to burn into all they gazed upon and Armanis slowly stood up, an uneasy grin on his face.

"I knew this would happen eventually. Well, better now than never! I'll defeat you know, Sting!"

…

**I don't think this is my best chapter, but I hope you guys like it. I just really wanted to write something. Thanks for reading and please drop a review! FF**


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